Southern University System

Charles F. Bolden Jr., the first
African American and the second ex-astronaut to lead NASA, will deliver
the keynote address for Southern University’s spring commencement, May
13, 2001 in F. G. Clark Activity Center, at 10:30 a.m.

With his
Marine Corps background, and his experience as an astronaut, he is
uniquely equipped to lead NASA into the 21st Century, and some hope,
into the era of manned space flight to the moon and beyond. For Bolden,
the role is another opportunity to inspire the children of those who
serve in our nation’s military.

A long-time alumnus of the Space
Agency, Bolden left NASA in 1994 to resume his career in the Marine
Corps. In 2002, then-President George W. Bush unsuccessfully tried to
appoint Bolden as the space agency’s deputy administrator. The Pentagon
said it needed to keep Bolden in his role as a Marine general and pilot
who had flown more than 100 sorties in Vietnam and the start of the Gulf
War in 1991.

Bolden, 62, received confirmation last summer from
the senate, where he has several supporters, including Florida Senator
Bill Nelson, who flew as a guest during Bolden's first shuttle mission
in January 1986, just two weeks before the deadly Challenger accident.

Bolden
stayed with NASA during its painful recovery after Challenger and for
another historic event. He was a pilot for the 1990 mission that
launched the Hubble telescope into orbit. Ironically, the news of his
appointment was made on the completion of the final shuttle mission to
Hubble in late May.

Finally, he also commanded a 1992 shuttle
atmospheric research flight and in 1994 led a mission that included the
first Russian cosmonaut as a member of a shuttle crew. The
astronaut/cosmonaut exchange program culminated in a partnership to
operate the International Space Station, as it continues to thrive
today.